They're a little bit country -- but still local

Ryan Kelly and Jilly Martin play the Bull Run in Shirley on Saturday night.
(BobZajac)

By Bonnie J. Toomey

Correspondent

SHIRLEY -- Local country artists Jilly Martin and Ryan Kelly will step up onto the Bull Run's Ballroom stage on Saturday at 8 p.m.

The duo, performing from New England to Nashville, have been featured as supporting acts for Brad Paisley, The Band Perry, Keith Urban, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Justin Moore, Jana Kramer and Sara Evans.

The 20-something Martin grew up singing in Chelmsford with her grandmother, who taught her how to harmonize, while Kelly grew up in Hudson, N.H.

"My grandmother was in the Sweet Adelines chorus," said Martin recently as she and Kelly were jamming to Beatles music on their way to a gig in New York.

"We would sing harmonies to just about any song. I was always playing and singing at church," added Martin, who began performing at an early age with local bands.

"There was a talent show, and my mother took me into AC Western Wear in Littleton to get me an outfit. When they found out I was singing country music, they said they knew a bunch of bands that needed a singer, so I began playing in bands at age 9."

Eventually, the young singer found a home with the John Penny Band, the same band in which Jo Dee Messina began her career. She was with the band for seven years.

"My mom came with me to every show," she said.

Martin, who has a mane of blond hair and a bright voice, has been on a professional track ever since. During her high-school years, she said, there was no niche for country music.

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"And now it's huge up here," she said, laughing softly.

Kelly remembers his father's banjos and guitars as pivotal focal points in his home.

"My dad is a musician," said the 23-year-old singer. "He taught me how to play. He was always trying to show me simple bluegrass songs."

The easiest one was a Jimmy Buffett song called "Stars on the Water" that he learned when he was barely 7.

"My audience was my family at that point, in the kitchen at the table," he said.

Kelly said from then on, he always had to have the guitar nearby. He saved up and got a nicer, brand-name guitar.

"It would be there, looking at me in the morning, and I couldn't imagine a day without it," said Kelly, who started playing more seriously when he turned 13. "I was taking lessons, studying with Mike McAdam in Nashua at North Main Music. I started to get some gigs."

Martin and Kelly met when a mutual friend brought them together after he heard Martin was looking for someone to sing a duet to a song she had written.

"Ryan had an EP himself, 'Get on Thinking,' and the song was 'Hello I'm Love.' We gradually started playing shows together," Martin said.

The two have been singing together for about four years.

"I traveled on and off to Nashville, he was up here playing gigs all over, and we found that people liked it when we played together," she said. "Ryan is a great guitar player and singer. It's a good balance on stage."

Standouts in today's crossover country-music scene, Martin and Kelly say their songs bridge the boundary between traditional and new country. Making their mark with a cache of their own original music, their songwriting features vocal harmonies and musicianship. A CD release party will follow the show.

"We hope people see we are writing a lot together now, and that the songs are our songs, from influences we both enjoy, and that we are creating something new," Kelly said.

Martin hopes people like their originals as much as the covers.

"We are confident playing both. It's something we are writing together from all of our stories," Martin said, sharing their track "Train Wreck," a song inspired by a past relationship, as an example of how their real-life stories find their way into their music.

"It ended up being one of our favorites," she said.

"The harmonies work well," Kelly said. "We got some of our favorite musicians to play. It felt great.. There were lots of smiles."

They agree that the best teacher has been the stage itself -- putting their music out there, they've learned something new each time.

"Get yourself out there as much as you can," Martin said to all those who want to perform.

"There are so many ups and downs," Kelly said. "You just have to keep pushing through those by living and breathing your music every day."

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